Hamburg

Jens and Regine Ehlers had invited the current management, Gesine Jacobi and Flannan Lehmann, to a dinner at their family residence to celebrate the 250th anniversary of their trading office. They had also asked their old friend Heinz Otto Wehmann to prepare a suitable menu. In the afternoon, a young man named Angström arrived, making a very good impression.  

The beginning, however, was somewhat bumpy. Mr. Lehmann had never heard of the Bunthäuser Spitze, where Hamburg’s smallest lighthouse stands, and Miss Jacobi did not know what a tide clock was, causing the Ehlers to inwardly sigh briefly. The rather elderly Hanseatic couple, both over 90, were very open-minded; among their friends were Portuguese, Chinese, Turks, and Persians, but disinterest in the world bored them. Yet, Miss Jacobi broke the ice with stories from her childhood. She had grown up in a rural commune, and when Mr. Lehmann, after an anecdote, somewhat abruptly asked if the current decoration was also marijuana, she nearly fell off her chair laughing.  

This seemed to the Ehlers the perfect moment to offer the guests the informal “Du” form of address. Angström, who was beginning to like the group, quietly explained that he also had some cannabis with him if needed, which Gesine and Flannan, however, professionally declined. But the Ehlers, who had enjoyed pipes of all kinds around the world, thanked the chef for the good idea and reassured the guests – this was not a business dinner. So Angström rolled a few joints, ensuring there would be no shortages later, and after the first few puffs, the already excellent Vierländer duck tasted even better.  

Thus, the quartet chatted the night away until they ended up on the Alster chairs in the garden, where they watched the sunrise, while Gesine spoke of forest spirits and Jens recounted his 90th birthday, which had also ended similarly. When Jens and Regine went to bed, Angström slept on the chaise longue in the hallway, and the Mondrian hung askew.